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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Rings and things and resin!

I started thinking about what I was going to write this week....and then....absolutely nothing!!! Don't you hate it when that happens? Nothing funny or bright or even remotely interesting crossed my thinking path. Were my creative neurons on strike? What to do, what to do? Then I started reflecting on what was going on around me, and came up with a few ideas! The first one is freeform related (see last Wednesday's post), and has to do with my obsessive need to try out everything that interests me.

Karen Williams posted some delicious little Valentine rings on her Baublicious blog. I drooled and obsessed for a while, and then decided to give it a try. Her idea for the starting string of beads is solid, but of course I didn't end up making mine that way! No little charms because I don't own any....but I do reserve the right to add a few in the future. How about a little Swarovski heart or a sparkly dangle? Pretty but fragile....I wonder? The blue/green ring is my first and it's a little large, but does fit my middle finger. The black/grey one turned out just right, and I absolutely love it! I'm simply enchanted with this process, and predict many more rings in my future (and perhaps even a wee workshop). It's amazing how much design you can pack into these little treasures!

Next obsession, resin! When you forget to bring along your personal supply of bezels (to the workshop you're teaching), you're forced to improvise. I had a "what if" moment and decided to turn more trash into treasure. I've used metal bottle caps before, but I wondered what would happen if I included some rayon thread ends (saved from my fibre days) and then added Ice Resin in to a larger plastic cap. The metal bottle cap (with a few small shells and a bit of birch bark) turned out great, but the plastic cap was certainly not awe inspiring! Mainly because the colourful threads darkened considerably, and seemed to suck all the light out of the piece. Not entirely daunted, I decided to add some teeny stones, a bit of dyed silk cocoon, and a final sprinkle of fine glitter (to represent pond scum). It's not perfect, but certainly improving. I still need to disguise the white plastic, but what if I made a bead embroidery piece, cut a hole in it and then inserted the little pond? Wouldn't that be interesting? I'll probably cover up the white plastic with Apoxie Sculpt (I'm giving a workshop on that tomorrow evening), Gilders Paste, and perhaps a dash of Vintag Patinas! I know, I probably should have done all this before adding the resin, but oh well!

Improvise, improvise, and improvise some more! If you're obsessed, it probably means the universe wants you to do something about it. Also remember that creativity sometimes takes a vacation, but will always return!!